To Make A House A Home
by RoanokeIsle
Summary: Becky has a sister...who has a daughter...when the daughter is cast out onto the streets, the Tanner family must take her in.
1. Arriving

Hello all!

This is my first Full House fan fiction story...actually, it's my first fan fiction story ever...so please be patient with me and I hope you like it!

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A teenage girl walked down the street, clutching a worn backpack in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. She was looking at the addresses of the houses in front of her, and then comparing them to the numbers scribbled on her paper.

Anyone passing by probably wouldn't even notice the girl, because she was so average. She was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans that were both in very bad shape and quite filthy. Her hair was dirty blonde, long, and actually rather nice. Strands of hair covered her light face and dark green eyes. She would be beautiful if she could clean herself up and pull her hair out of her eyes. But since she couldn't, she was stuck the way she was.

Suddenly, the girl stopped in front of a house. She scanned the address with her eyes and looked down to the paper, repeating the motion several times. And then, when she was sure, she took a deep breath, walked up to the front door and knocked on it.

There was the steady thump of footsteps inside the house, and then the door swung open to reveal a young blonde girl in the doorway. She was probably about nine or ten and was staring at the visitor with a curious gaze.

"Hi..." The younger girl said cautiously. "Who are you?" But before the visitor could answer the question, there was a male voice from somewhere inside the house.

"Stephanie? Who's at the door?" A tall man appeared in the doorway. The man was very skinny and towered over both girls. He was far from handsome and had a slightly stern look to him.

"I don't know, Dad. She hasn't told me her name." The girl called Stephanie told the man. The visitor's eyes flickered quickly from one to the other.

The man turned towards the girl at the door. "What's your name?"

The girl swallowed her fear and spoke. "Is Becky at home?"

The man looked confused, but answered quickly. "Yes, she is."

The girl smiled. She was almost there. "Could you please tell her that Emily is here to see her?"

Seconds later, Becky was running downstairs. Apparently Emily was at the door...but that couldn't be possible, Emily was either dead or with a nice foster family. So what was she doing at the door of the Tanner family house?

Her suspicions were confirmed when she came to the door and saw Emily standing there. This girl was older...dirtier...but Emily had a very unusual look to her and Becky could recognize her anywhere.

"Becky, do you know this girl?" Danny asked. Emily was carefully watching both of them.

"Yes..." Becky stepped forward, and to Danny's surprise, she wrapped the girl in a tight hug. When they let go, Becky ushered Emily inside.

"Hi Becky." Emily said, grinning. Her smile was still the same- bright and cheerful, with just a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Emily...how are you? What are you doing here? Why do you look like that? Don't get me wrong- I'm happy to see you, but you're supposed to have a very nice home and you're not supposed to be looking for me." Becky was flustered, trying to convince Emily of a million things at once.

"I'll explain it all, don't worry. And- I hate to impose, but could I have something to eat? I'm famished...haven't eaten for days." Emily requested, still smiling.

"Oh yes... how silly of me, I should get you something to eat, and you can explain while you eat." Becky rushed into the kitchen, with Danny right behind her, while Stephanie and Emily followed more slowly.

So Emily got something to eat, and while she ate, she spoke to Becky. Becky seemed to understand everything that was going on...Danny and Stephanie were beyond confused. They were lost.

"Anyway, I've been living on the street for a while. I've made some friends, I've stolen some food- yeah, it's a hard life, but it's not so bad." Emily said, waving her fork wildly.

"You stole food?" Stephanie replied, unable to believe it.

Emily turned her gaze to Stephanie. "Yeah...I stole food. You know, people are really cruel these days- they expect you to pay for your food. I mean, seriously, who has money to buy food?"

Danny and Becky exchanged a look over Emily's head as she finished off the rest of her food.

"So, Emily, how you do you know Becky?" Danny inquired.

Emily stared at Danny for a moment, and then her head whipped around to look at Becky. "You haven't told them?" Her voice was lined with disbelief.

Becky looked down at the table. "Well, Emily, I never thought you'd show up at my house."

"It's my house." Danny interrupted.

"I never thought you'd show up at Danny's house." Becky corrected herself.

"Well, you thought wrong."

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Well, that's the first chapter. I hope you liked it!


	2. Explaining

Hello everyone! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! This is the second chapter. Enjoy!

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The front door opened and closed, and there was the sound of people walking into the house as Becky put Emily's plate in the sink. Everyone rose to their feet, for reasons that cannot be explained, and waited.

Moments later, a flood of people burst into the kitchen, and all was chaos. Becky and Danny were trying to get everyone to be quiet. The minute they saw Emily, the talking stopped, and they all turned to get a good look at her.

"Hi...everyone." Emily said, giving them a halfhearted wave. She didn't particularly like people staring at her, and they were doing it now.

"Everyone" consisted of Jesse, Joey, DJ, Michelle, Nicky, and Alex. They were all gaping at Emily, who gave them a sideways smile.

"Dad, who is this?" DJ asked, moving forward to stand next to her father.

"Everybody...this is Emily. Emily- I think you may have to tell your story again."

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Emily got everyone seated at the table and then found herself a chair at the head of the table.

"Okay, so first of all...Becky is my aunt. My mother was her sister...Cara...and Becky was supposed to take care of me if anything happened to my mother."

Jesse turned to Becky. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

Becky shrugged. "It never came up."

"So...I was living with my mother, doing just fine, and then...she died. She suddenly got sick and just...died. I was eight years old."

"Unfortunately, I didn't have any other relatives to take care of me. And no one bothered to notify Becky that my mother had died. So I was left in the house, all alone, for about a week. I would go to school every day, and my mother's car was still in the driveway, so no one ever knew. Then when the bank took our house...I left the house the day before they came. I had nowhere to go, so I just put myself out on the streets."

"Why didn't you tell someone?" Joey asked.

"There was no one to tell. My friends wouldn't have been able to help me...I never got a chance to talk to my teachers...I didn't know my neighbors. So I just...left."

"I wandered the streets for two days. My mother had left me some money, but I was not allowed to get it until I turned eighteen. So I just had what I had saved from my allowance. It wasn't much."

"One day, a woman came up to me on the street. I later found out she was a social worker. She asked me some questions and then took me to an orphanage."

"An orphanage? Why aren't you still there?" DJ questioned.

"Let me continue and maybe I'll tell you. Anyway, this orphanage was really bad. The owner was always drinking and he would...hit us...and he did other things...to the girls." Emily looked miserable, bringing back this memory.

"I made friends there, though. Lots of friends. So one night, I grabbed my three closest friends and we ran. No one ever noticed we were gone, and so we were able to make lives for ourselves."

"Our home was the streets, the gutters. We would steal food out of stores and we would do the same when we needed clothes. We rarely wore shoes. We didn't bathe, although sometimes we went swimming and got ourselves cleaned up. And we created a family."

"We would meet kids on the streets, kids that had lost their homes just like us. Soon, we added six people to our little group of four."

"Why?" Becky asked.

"When you're out on the streets, there's safety in numbers. You can't survive out there all on your own. You need someone to watch your back, and they need you for the same reason. People are less likely to pay attention to you if you're in a group like that."

"We ranged in age from seven to eighteen years old. The oldest was an eighteen-year-old girl. She had money from her parents, but she wasn't spending it well."

"What was she spending it on?" Jesse asked.

"Drugs. Alcohol. Cigarettes. She did spend it on two things for us. One of those things was a photo of all of us. We persuaded a photographer to take it and give us all a copy."

Emily set her backpack on the table, opened a pocket, and withdrew a photograph, setting it on the table. The picture seemed to be at least two years old. It showed about ten children and teenagers sitting and standing in front of an apartment building. They recognized one of the children as a younger Emily. She put the picture back in her backpack.

"Then the second thing was a tattoo, so if we ever got a nice foster home or even got adopted, we could always have proof that we once lived on the streets."

Emily thrust her hand forward so everyone could see the black skull and crossbones etched on the back of her left hand.

"Cool!" Nicky and Alex said together, moving forward for a closer look.

"We called our group several different things. The Outcasts, the Gutter Crawlers, the Street Rats. We got the inspiration for our group names from what other people called us."

"I've been looking for Becky for about a month, ever since I turned twelve. My group broke apart and I was walking around with two of the members when I remembered that I had a relative that might be able to take care of me. So the three of us have been looking through phone books and searching all over California. Eventually, we found the right place."

"And here I am."

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Well, there's the second chapter! If you did the math, you would have figured out that Emily lived on the street for four years. That's a long time...

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Talking

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first and second chapters, and here is the third!

You're going to have to pretend that Jesse and Becky have an extra room in their attic apartment...if you don't, then nothing is going to make sense.

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There was silence for a moment as people considered what Emily had just said.

"So...what now?" Joey asked.

"Well...we have to find a place for Emily to stay." Danny replied.

"Danny, couldn't she stay here? Jesse and I have that extra room." Becky said, watching Danny carefully.

"We have too many people already, Becky. The last thing was need is another kid running around." Danny turned to Emily. "No offense, you understand." Emily shrugged.

"But she'd be no trouble at all. She could help out with Nicky and Alex, and you would hardly notice her."

"I just don't think it's a good idea. We just don't have room." Danny answered.

Becky wasn't about to give up. "DJ, Stephanie, Michelle, why don't you take the twins upstairs and show Emily your room?"

The Tanner girls took the boys and left the kitchen, but Emily hesitated for a moment before speaking to Danny.

"You don't have to let me live here, you know. I understand that you have a crowded house and you don't need me around." Her face was calm, but her voice shook just a little. "I'd be happy to go back to the streets." Then she went into the living room, where the others were waiting.

"Well, that settles that." Danny started to get up, but Becky gave him a stern look and he sat back down.

"Danny, can't you tell that she doesn't want to go back? And you wouldn't want to, either, if you had been through some of the things she has." Becky said. "You have to let her stay here. If you don't, you're sending her back out to die."

Danny looked at Jesse. "Jesse, are you okay with Emily staying in your extra room?"

Jesse shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it would be all right. She seems like a cool kid."

Danny looked around at his family. "Well, then, I guess she's staying."

Becky cheered and hugged Danny. "Let's go tell her the good news."

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Emily had left.

She had left while the girls were playing with the twins. They weren't going to miss her- they had a whole family to keep them company. It wasn't like they cared about her at all; they were just being nice because they felt they had to.

She didn't belong there anyway. In that house, with all those nice things...these people had everything. They had a loving family, food every day, warm clothes, and a soft, comfortable bed to climb into every night. It was sickening.

She could survive okay out on the streets. She had done it for four years, hadn't she? She could do it for another six, until she was old enough to collect the money her mother had left for her.

Emily sighed and swung her backpack up onto her back, before starting off. There wasn't a place for her here, and she refused to keep looking. She had friends who would take care of her. Hopefully.

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Danny, Becky, Jesse, and Joey walked into the living room to find nobody there. They went upstairs to the room Stephanie and DJ shared and found the three Tanner girls along with Nicky and Alex- but no Emily.

"Girls...where is Emily?" Danny asked, stepping inside the room.

"Oh...she left." DJ replied.

"She left? Where did she go?" Becky questioned, hurrying over to the girls.

"I don't know...she didn't say anything. She just...left." DJ said. Michelle and Stephanie nodded.

"We have to go find her! Something could have happened to her!" Becky was starting to lose it.

Stephanie answered this time. "I'm sure she's fine, Aunt Becky...she can take care of herself."

Becky didn't listen. She sat down on one of the two beds and buried her head in her hands. She had seen her niece for the first time in years...and now she was gone. What kind of aunt was she?

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and the bed creaked as someone sat down next to her.

It was Jesse. "Don't worry, Becky. We'll find her."

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Okay, people, I need help!

I don't know what ages the kids (DJ, Stephanie, Michelle, Nicky, and Alex) are supposed to be. I heard somewhere that the three Tanner girls are five years apart...is that right? How much of an age difference is there between the girls and the twins? How old were the girls when DJ got her own room and Michelle moved in with Stephanie? The last one...I have to know because I don't know if Stephanie and Michelle are supposed to be sharing a room...help!

I don't want it to be inaccurate, but if I don't figure this out, I'll have to just make up the ages and hope it all fits together. So if you know...please tell me!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	4. Searching

Hey, you guys- this is the fourth chapter. Sorry it took so long for me to update, but with school and everything...I've been busy.

Special thanks to **FH Fan**, **Me**, **anonymous**, and** LenniluvsBrian **for helping me with the ages. I'm going to say that D.J. is fifteen, Stephanie is ten, Michelle is four, and the twins are two. It may not be perfect, but it works for this story. By the way, Emily is twelve (but you all know that already).

Emily was strolling down the street, looking for her friends. This was the street they were usually on- the filthiest, cheapest, most dangerous street in the city. It was perfect for orphans and runaways, because no one ever got suspicious. No one here ever cared what you did.

Suddenly, she felt the grip of a pair of hands on her shoulders and a person yelled something in her ear. She immediately whirled around, but she knew who it was even before she saw their face.

"Rachel!" Emily cried, falling into the arms of one of her best friends. The two girls locked each other in a hug for a moment, before letting go and examining each other.

Rachel was tall and skinny, as were many of the children and teenagers on this street. She had dark brown hair and freckles, and she was often filthy. Rachel was almost as tough as Emily, and she didn't mind getting dirty. She was thirteen, a full year older than Emily, but they had been together through so many hard times.

"Em, weren't you going off to live with your...family?" Rachel didn't know what to call them. It was a common rule that no one living on the streets had a real family. If they did, why would they be on the streets?

"They really didn't want me there. I left before they could tell me to get lost." Emily replied.

Rachel grinned. "You'll bounce back, Em. You're strong. And look on the bright side!"

"And that would be...what?" Emily said, a smile creeping across her face.

"You get to stay with me!" Rachel shouted cheerfully. Because of the street they were standing on, no one thought to give her a strange look.

"Rachel, that is, without a doubt, the brightest side I've ever seen."

Back at the Tanner household, everyone was piling into cars and going out on foot to find Emily.

"The kid hasn't even moved in yet and she's already run away." Danny grumbled to Joey as they divided everyone else into search parties. But the next time Joey looked at his best friend, Danny had a concerned look on his face and was hastily telling people what to do.

They made three groups. Jesse took the first group, with Michelle and Becky. Danny was in charge of the second group- Stephanie and Nicky. And Joey guided the third group, made up of D.J. and Alex. They were small groups, and the twins wouldn't be able to help out much, but maybe they'd be able to find Emily.

Jesse's group took one car, Danny's group took the other car, and Joey's group went on foot. Each group chose a nearby section of the city to cover, and they all set off to find Emily.

Jesse's group went to a clean, very expensive part of town, thinking Emily may have gone there. They asked everyone if they had seen a twelve-year-old wandering all by herself, but no one had seen her. They went back to the house, discouraged.

Danny's group did the same thing and ended up with the same result. They met Jesse, Michelle, and Becky at the house to share their findings. There wasn't anything to share.

But while the first two groups found sparkling streets and large, costly houses, Joey's group found something quite different.

"I'm tired." D.J. complained, as their little group turned onto another street. Joey was carrying Alex and calling Emily's name at the same time. D.J. stopped him for a moment.

"Joey, Emily left because she didn't want to stay with us. Do you actually think she's going to answer if you call her?"

Joey shrugged. "It's worth a try." And then Alex almost slipped from his arms when he saw the street he was on.

Homeless people were sitting everywhere. And not just adults. There were huge groups of children scattered all over the street, chasing each other, throwing rocks- trying to amuse themselves with what they had.

The street was lined with, not houses, but shacks, cardboard boxes, and tents. These were functioning as homes for the residents of this street. These residents lay on the sidewalks, shivering in their rags. Some were climbing into dumpsters, to fish food out from the metal bins, or crouched next to trash cans for the same purpose.

Joey and D.J. walked down the street, gazing at everything they saw. It was a pitiful sight, but they couldn't tear their eyes away from it. The people looked up and stared at them as they walked past, probably envying everything they had. Warm clothes, a home, food when they wanted it...some of the people looked away because they were reminded of everything that they had lost.

Joey handed Alex to D.J. and cautiously approached one of the homeless people, a young woman who was rooting through some rubbish in the gutter. She located an orange peel, and gobbled the remainder of the fruit off of it. Then, feeling Joey's eyes on her, she looked up and instinctively took a step back.

"What..." She cleared her throat and tried again. "What do you want from me?" She clutched her tattered clothing closer around her thin frame and stared up at them with big eyes.

"We're looking for a person...a girl named Emily, blonde hair, wearing a black shirt and jeans...do you know her? Have you seen her?" Joey asked, trying not to frighten the woman.

"You mean Em? That fiery girl who's always stealing stuff and charming the store owners so they'll let her keep what she's stolen? Yeah, she lives down the street with her friends." The woman jerked her thumb down the street, in the vague direction of a cluster of tents.

"Thank you. I appreciate your time." Joey smiled and backed away as quickly as he could. Homeless people made him uncomfortable.

"What did that woman say? Is Emily here?" D.J. asked, shifting Alex to her right arm to give her left one a break.

"Well, there's a girl called "Em" that lives on this street. I have a feeling that she's our Emily."

There you go! I hope you enjoyed it...once again, I'm very sorry it took me forever to update. But I've updated now, so I expect lots of reviews!

Bye!


	5. Persuading

**Sorry it always takes me so long to update, but you know…life is busy! Thanks to all of my wonderful readers and reviewers…I appreciate your time!**

**Disclaimer (I've been forgetting this!): I own nothing besides Emily, Rachel, any of Emily's friends, and any homeless people on the street. And my Diet Coke. LOL…**

**Now, read the fifth chapter!!!**

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Joey and D.J., with Alex in Joey's arms, hurried down the street. They were close to finding Emily, they just knew it. This was definitely the kind of filthy background she had been living in for a while. It was a dingy and dirty lifestyle, but they supposed that Emily liked it because her friends were here.

They stopped suddenly when they saw a group of teens (mostly girls), all of them around Emily's age. It was a large gathering of people, with probably fifteen or sixteen people. They were sitting under a canvas covering, almost like a tent, sprawled across barrels, boxes, blankets, and the jagged ground. They were laughing and joking loudly.

"Joey…do you think…maybe?" D.J. asked, eyeing the teenagers carefully, hoping for a sign of Emily.

"I don't know, D.J., but it's possible. Anything's possible at this point." Joey replied. The two of them stepped closer to the group.

"Excuse me!" D.J. called out loudly. "Excuse me!"

The teenagers turned to look at D.J. with the same curious gaze she had been giving them only moments before.

D.J. faltered under the eyes of so many people, but thought of Emily living in this environment and swallowed her fear. "Have you…have you seen a girl named Emily?"

The group was silent for what seemed like forever. Then, a body that had been lying on the ground rose to look at D.J. and Joey. They recognized her immediately. It was Emily.

"Emily…you can't imagine how relieved I am to see you." Joey told the girl, offering her a kind smile.

"Sorry, can't say the same about you." Emily responded, a bitter tone in her voice. She settled back against the ground, and Joey and D.J. lost their view of her.

The two moved up until they were right next to the group. "Emily, please at least come talk to us." Joey pleaded, his voice diminishing as he saw her displeased look.

But, despite her obvious annoyance, she got to her feet and followed them away from her friends, to an empty corner of the street.

"What?" Emily hissed, once they were out of earshot of her friends.

Joey mentally ran over his words before speaking. "Emily, we really want you to come home with us. You belong there…we're your family. Don't you want to be with us?"

"No."

Joey sighed. "But you'd be with people who loved you, instead of those…_ruffians_." He stumbled over his words, trying to search for the perfect adjective to describe Emily's friends.

Emily's eyes narrowed. "These ruffians are my friends, and they are my family. I need no one else." She turned to go back to her group, but D.J. grabbed her arm.

"Emily, just hear us out." Now D.J. prepared herself. "Not only would you be with a family, you would have a warm bed, real meals every day, decent clothing…and two baby brothers." Emily's glare seemed not as angry now.

"Now, don't try and tell me that you would rather sleep on a cold cement sidewalk, eat out of the dumpster, wear the same clothes for the rest of your life, and have no proper family. This is not a life, Emily. This is a nightmare."

Emily seemed to be considering this. "But I'd have to leave my friends…and this place- I know it may not seem like much to you, but this place is really my home. I've lived here for years. I can't just leave like that."

"Well, it's your decision. You can stay here if you want, but I know that we'd all be really disappointed. Did you know Aunt Becky was crying before we all set out to find you? She was afraid you didn't want to be with her. And I know Uncle Jesse really does want you to live with them. Nicky and Alex are going to love having you as a sister. I know Stephanie, Michelle and I would be thrilled to have a cousin like you. So…why don't you come with us, Emily? Everybody wants you."

As if on cue, Alex reached out from Joey's arms, trying to grab Emily. The teen laughed and took the boy into her arms. She let him fall asleep in her arms while she thought about what she should do.

"Well…I guess…I guess I'll do it. I can come back and visit my friends sometimes, right?"

"Anytime you want." Joey replied, and D.J. nodded her agreement.

"Okay. Just let me say goodbye to my friends, and I'll be ready to go in a few minutes." Emily handed Alex to D.J. and rushed back to say farewell to her friends.

Emily went to her more distant friends first, because it'd be easier to say goodbye. They didn't protest much, just gave her a hug or a handshake and wished her good luck.

Then she went to her inner circle, which included, among other people, Rachel, and Emily's boyfriend, Brad.

"Make new friends, okay? But don't forget about us. We'll be waiting for you here anytime you need us, if they try to make you do chores or something." One of Emily's friends, Catressa, said. The two laughed and hugged each other.

"You're my best friend, Em. You can't leave me alone like this! Who's going to steal food when it's my turn and I'm too afraid to do it?" Rachel was worried.

"Our other friends will help you, Rachel."

"I'll never have another friend like you." Rachel hugged Emily several times, before bursting into tears and running away.

Brad was last. "Promise me you won't fall in love with any rich boy, okay? You'll always love your Brad most, won't you?"

"Yes, Brad. I promise." Emily responded, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

Brad smiled and stroked her hair gently. "Have fun, Em…come back to visit me all the time."

The two shared a hug and a couple of quick kisses, before Brad allowed Emily to leave. She waved as she walked away with Joey, D.J., and Alex.

"So, Emily, are you ready to come home?" Joey asked.

Emily looked wistfully at her friends, growing smaller and smaller in the distance.

"I've already left it."

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**There you go! Hope you all enjoyed!**

**Please review! I know you all love this story. So tell me! I'm dying to hear it! **


	6. More Talking

**Hey everybody! I'm sorry it took so long to write this chapter, but I wasn't inspired for a while, and then I didn't have time…anyway, it's here now!**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**-Jade**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except Emily, any of her friends, her mother…anyone you don't recognize, I probably own them. **

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Emily walked down the street with Joey and D.J., looking back at her friends every few minutes until they were out of sight. Then she sighed and turned around, continuing to walk.

D.J. was watching her. "Emily…what do you like about living on the streets?"

Emily sighed again, a sigh of resignation and defeat. She opened her mouth to explain, but was surprised to find that no words came out. After attempting it two more times, she simply shook her head and began walking faster.

D.J. was thoroughly confused by now. What could be so wonderful about living on the streets? No warm bed, no true family, no guarantee that you would have food to eat…it seemed to be a horrible life. What had kept Emily from immediately agreeing to go home with them?

"Freedom." Emily murmured. D.J. was startled, and wondered if she had uttered her question aloud. But Emily didn't seem to be talking to them.

"Freedom?" Joey questioned. Emily nodded.

"When you're out on the streets, no one tells you what to do. Even if someone does give you an order, you don't actually have to follow it. You can go where you want, do what you want- be who you want."

"You knew you wouldn't get complete freedom living with us." D.J. pointed out. "But you still came."

Emily smiled a very small smile that seemed fragile and weak. "Yes, I know that. But I also know that freedom isn't everything. I know that if I live with you, I will have a bed, good food, and a family. A real family…I've never had one before."

"What about before your mother died? Didn't you have a real family then?" Joey asked.

"I had a family, yes, but it wasn't a whole one. I didn't have a father, or any siblings. I didn't even have a pet."

"You and your mother loved each other, though, didn't you? Isn't that what a family is?" D.J. said.

Emily nodded. "You're right, that is a family, but I always wanted something more. And now, I will have a father- a real father."

"And two younger brothers." D.J. added.

The girl's smile grew larger, and for the first time since her mother died, there was true happiness in her eyes.

"Yes. Two younger brothers."

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They didn't speak for the rest of the way home, and they arrived soon. Everyone ran to them as they entered the house, asking where Emily was. Then they noticed the girl standing silently next to D.J.

Becky immediately began fussing over her. "Are you okay, Emily? Are you hurt?"

Emily wriggled out of her aunt's grasp. "Becky, I'm fine. No need to worry about me."

Becky gazed nervously at her niece. "But I was worried, Emily…why did you run away like that?"

Emily shrugged and flopped down on the couch. "I don't know. I didn't feel like anyone actually wanted me here."

Becky's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Emily…" She couldn't finish her sentence. She just wrapped her arms around the girl and held her as tight as she could.

"Emily, we're sorry that we made you feel like that." D.J. apologized.

"Yeah, Emily- you're always wanted here." Danny added.

The teen pulled herself out of Becky's embrace. "Really?" She asked, a small smile brightening her face.

"Yes!" The family spoke all at once, and as Emily grinned, they all fell into a huge group hug.

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"Well, Emily, this is your room." Jesse told her, showing her the spare room in the attic.

"It's…nice…" Emily replied, in an unconvincing tone.

The room was very small, more like a large closet than a bedroom. There was some meaningless junk stacked up in the corners- lamps, old clothes, and several dozen cardboard boxes.

"We'll clear out all this stuff and paint the walls…put in a nice bed and some other furniture…it'll be great." Jesse tried fruitlessly to convince Emily.

"Where do I sleep until we get a bed in?" Emily asked, examining the room with obvious disgust.

Jesse walked over to the other side of the room and unfolded a cot that had been leaning against the wall. He coughed as dust flew out of it.

"Right here." He said, patting the cot and smiling at Emily.

She raised an eyebrow. "Here?" Joining him by the makeshift bed, she eyed the filthy blanket folded on top. "On this?"

"Yes, is there a problem?" Jesse met her eyes and they both started laughing. They laughed so hard that they ended up rolling around the ground.

Becky walked in and surveyed the scene. "What did I miss?"

Jesse and Emily looked at each other again and decided not to explain, because neither of them knew why they were laughing.

Becky smiled. "Anyway, Emily, I've got your backpack here." She raised the backpack in the air and handed it over to her niece.

"Thanks, Becky." Emily took the backpack and then looked around the room. "Okay…let's fix this place up."

* * *

**Well, I hope you all liked that chapter! Now you can wait several more months for the next update! LOL!**

**-Jade**


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